Chips Stocks Fall on Report;
Sales Data Hurt Auto Makers

By

Shaheen Pasha Dow Jones Newswires

Updated March 4, 2003 10:07 p.m. ET

(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks started off on a good foot, as war fears eased over the weekend, but a disappointing manufacturing report from the Institute of Supply Management quickly deflated the euphoria, with semiconductor stocks receiving the brunt of the selling.

Chip stocks, the session's weakest-performing group, were hurt by reports of a decline in January sales of...